====== Ideas ======

====== 2014W ======

===== Topic and group selection =====

  * first need to select topics
  * then need to fill roles
  * each role (eg. panelist position) needs to have scientific backing.  Submit link to at least one relevant article
  * topics should have introductory videos


===== Format template =====

  * title
  * brief description
  * benefits
  * risks and ways to mitigate
  * general outline
  * detailed recipe (with time limits and points)
  * scoring
  * rationale for details
  * summary


===== Some formats =====

  * Town hall meeting

==== Panel discussion (Week 2) ====

  * audience submits questions in advance (after week 1).  Selected questions get extra points.  Questions to be directed only towards one group.
  * Qs submitted via forum -- panelists can review and prepare in advance
  * Rik moderates - stress importance of courtesy, listening to speaker, etc.
  * introductory poll (attendance, doesn't affect panelists' grades)
  * panelists prepare whiteboard ID posters
  * for each group: introductions, position statements, and two audience questions
  * then intra-panel debate (one q by each group for one other group?), moderated with time limits
  * intermediate poll
  * short break (good for audience attention and for panelists to adjust strategies)
  * return for questions from audience
  * concluding statements by panelists
  * concluding poll

Some help:
  * http://www.speakerconfessions.com/2009/04/why-panel-sessions-suck-and-how-to-fix-them/

Questions:
  * Do we need more microphones?  How about https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.crowdmics&hl=en


====== 2013W ======

^ Format  ^ Week 1  ^ Week 2  ^
| TEDs  | Each leader presents one aspect of topic to small group for 20 minutes.  Leaders rotate through all groups.  At end groups vote on which topic to focus on.  | Follow up on specific topic.  How?  |
|Mock trial\\ "Is ____ good science?"  (If yes, may be included in Science classroom & textbooks.)  |Leaders introduce topic.  Try convince audience of importance.  If successful, choose Judge, jury, defense, prosecution, and expert witnesses are chosen.  If rejected, leaders will do something else next class.|From [[wp>Mock_Trial#Procedure]]:\\ \\ The mock trial begins with the judge entering the courtroom. The judge then gives out the instructions to the jury (about what they are to listen to). Then if there is a pretrial motion, the defense and prosecution give their respective pretrial arguments. The judge then lets the prosecution or plaintiff give an opening statement followed by the opening statement of the defense. After the opening statements, examination of the witnesses begins. The prosecution/plaintiff calls their witnesses first. A student competitor attorney for the prosecution/plaintiff does a direct examination of the witness. Once the direct examination is complete, the opposing team may cross-examine the witness. After the cross-examination, if the first team chooses, they may redirect the witness and, likewise, the other team may do a re-cross after this. This process is repeated for the two remaining plaintiff witnesses. Once the prosecution/plaintiff has finished with their witnesses, the process is repeated with the defense witnesses, having the defense attorneys direct and the plaintiff attorneys cross-examine.[8]\\ \\ Once all of the witnesses have been examined, the trial moves to closing arguments. The prosecutor/plaintiff again goes first. After the defense finishes their closing argument, the plaintiff may give a rebuttal argument if they still have time remaining. In some competitions, the rebuttal is limited to the scope of the defense’s closing argument.[8] Time limits are set at each level of competition to prevent the trials from running too long and to keep rounds of competition running smoothly.|
|Panel show|Form special interests groups.  (Who would be interested parties in this topic?)|Have the panel show.|

Random ideas for next year's ISCI 300 Seminar:

  - Replace points with "Ints" (a play on __INTS__ci and po__INTS__) and make them a material currency.  We can print paper Ints or have plastic coins (eg. from a game store).
  - Each week the leaders get a number of Ints they can distribute to the audience for good participation.  At the end of each class the audience awards Ints to the leaders for an informative and interesting class.
  - How about the audience complete an anonymous form at the end of each class to give the leaders constructive feedback (could also contain the Ints awarded).
  - Leaders earn __all__ their Ints from audience vote.  That should increase the incentive to do a good job.  I'm thinking 2-20 per week (expect 16).  Is that too much?
  - The audience was tending to arrive late this year -- we could reward a "sign-in" Int for arriving on time and a "sign-out" Int for submitting the feedback.  So that would be 2 Ints per class.  Audience should average 1 extra "participation" Int per class (ie. average 3 Ints per class in total). [Require students to put their signature beside their name to deter students from signing in/out for their absent friends. Is this too strict? - Leo] 
  - Each topic should just be two weeks long -- four was too much.
  - Add requirement to pass: student must have IntSci application approved.  Add incentive: 2-3 Ints for every month before April that application is approved.  Eg. 14 Ints if approved before end of Sept, 12 in Oct,..., 2 in Mar.
  - Create a facebook or twitter account for ISCI 300(or both!) so administrators can post interesting news articles and updates to do with the current classroom topics. -- Eugenia [Good idea! -- Rik.]
  - Split seminars into disciplines so that students have the opportunity to see the interesting aspects of a variety of topics. -- Eugenia [Let's see if we can write this into a proposed "template".  Leo and I liked one approach taken in the second term: in the first week the audience was split into smaller groups and leaders would take turns discussing a narrow topic within the bigger theme with each group in turn.  Then the audience voted on which topic to explore in more depth in the following week. -- Rik][We could approach this by narrowing topics in the way that you mentioned in second term. At first, have the whole audience brainstorm a few broad spectrum topics of interest. Then assign one group of students to present the next week (or maybe after two weeks) about a handful of more topics from within that broad interest. Continue this process so that each week, students are exposed to a number of topics, but have the choice of delving deeper into their "favourite". -- Eugenia]
  - Encourage (friendly) debate between students when it comes to controversial topics. Eg. present the two opposing views towards a topic and ask why students support either side. -- Eugenia [Yeah, this would be another great approach.  But it's scary :)  How do we get students to select this format? -- Rik][It's true that this could be a little scary. Perhaps if students work in groups, and are given some time to discuss, they'll feel less hesitant to express their views. Also, one could bring up the point that by this time, it is most likely that all IntSci students have needed to write an argumentative essay. For a friendly debate, all students really need to do is formulate some sort of "thesis" with their stance, and supporting points, and express them vocally!. -- Eugenia] [If debate is something we would like to consider, I suggest having students to come into the debate prepared - that means before they come into the debate, they should have background knowledge, data from studies, and statistics to support their argument. Students learn from the research process -Leo PS. Debate could be a little intimidating for most people, and most people probably would not choose to do it. Perhaps we can offer incentives for students to select this format?]


===== Debate format =====

Three-way debate?  Decide on three debatable positions on a topic.  Divide class into 3 groups, one defending each position.  3-way debate.  Everybody votes between the *other* 2 positions.  Ints assigned according to votes. --- //[[rik.blok@ubc.ca|Rik Blok]] 2013-09-08 22:38//

==== First week ====

  * 10 min intro to topic
  * propose two contentious claims within a general theme
  * break into groups, one per coordinator, each coordinator joins a group
  * each group takes pro or con re: one of the claims
  * 20 mins discussion in group to form position statement, led by coordinators
  * 20 mins: bring together one pro & con to present statements to each other
  * last 20 mins: form rebuttal, prepare research plan, who will debate in second week?
  * how do teams earn Ints for this week?

==== Second week ====

  * second round of debate, opening statements (5 min), rebuttal (7 min), and conclusion (5 min)
  * different person does each stage
  * only one claim is debated at a time, by half the class.  The others are audience who vote on winners.  Then swap.
  * how do teams earn Ints for this week?


===== Presentation format (by Leo) =====


==== First week ====

  * 5-10 mins intro to main theme
  * break the class into 4 small groups, one to two leaders join these groups. Each talk should talk about a different topic within the main theme
  * Begin the talk; these 4 talks go on simultaneously for about 15 minutes (10 mins for presentation, 5 mins for question-prompted discussion and questions) 
  * Leaders switch positions to the next small group; repeat until presenters have talked to every small group
  * At the end of each class, class votes on which topic to delve into further the next week
  * Leaders who are responsible for the voted topic gets extra Ints as incentive for presenting well
==== Second week ====

  * Based on the topic selected the previous week, the leaders give a brief recap and introduction about the topic
  * Then, leaders engage class in several activities that are related to the topic , so audience can participate and earn Ints 
  * Some suggested activities: Question and Answer period, interactive games, Question-prompted discussion.



===== Brainstorm format (by Eugenia) =====

==== First week ====

Intro (15mins) - General introduction to ISCI 300, explanation of the use of "Ints" rewards for student participation, involvement, and quality of work (ex. presentations) 

Social (10-15mins) - Students divide themselves into smaller groups --> introduce themselves and also share their IntSci disciplines (compare and contrast with others in their group)

Brainstorm (30 mins)- 1. Instructor asks students to share either their own Intsci disciplines or the disciplines of someone they had just met in their group (also ask students why they chose to study these topics) 2. Cumulate a substantial list of the variety of topics that students have chosen to study on the blackboard for everyone to see 3. Have students vote for a number of broad topics to study over the course of the term 4. Establish key topics for the term and assign student groups to each

Homework - Each group should familiarize itself with the topics they were assigned. They will be expected to be able to share their understanding of the topic next class. *instructor should stress that this shouldn't be difficult, should probably consist of some very light reading and research
==== Second week ====

Review - A class-wide review of the topics that were chosen last week. Each group provides a very general (and brief) overview of what their topic involves
+
Discussion/Brainstorm - After each group's explanation, the audience is encouraged to express what they find interesting about each topic. Each subsequent can be used to present information on topics of interest, and also exploring topics further. Example: 1st Week: Science and Society --> 2nd Week: Science in film --> 3rd Week: ET, Avatar --> 4th Week: The Search for Extraterrestrial Beings/Signs of Life.....

Other suggestions - 1. If students wish, they may suggest documentaries and other activities (according to their respective templates). These suggestions should be made as early as possible as they may require time and planning (such as in the case of field trips) 2. Each week can be planned according to the discussion from the previous week. Example: If 4th Week: "The Search for Extraterrestrial Beings/Signs of Life" prompted the question "Do extraterrestrial beings truly exist?" then the 5th Week could be a Debate Week (according to template) to let students discuss and argue their views

Ints - More Ints should be rewarded to students for their individual involvement. This will help to make sure that there aren't groups where only one or two students who are really vocal and involved in class



